Sterling Silver

[MinnesotaORnewbie]

So I found some Sterling silverware, marked .925, some just says Sterling Silver. Really beat up, plain design, probably Zero for collectable value. This is what I think I know so far from doing a little research.
1)When weighing each piece, you have to convert your Oz. into troy ounces.
2)knife handles can be hollow, have fillers, and sometimes the blade can be stainless.
3)A spoon averages 1 oz in weight? Is this right, and forks are heavier?
4)Some items like candle sticks and such can be weighted with plaster or cement.

So what I looking for is things to make sure I have what I think I have...

Lets say I have 20 pieces of Sterling Silverware. None of them are knives. Just spoons and forks, all marked either .925 or Sterling Silver. I used a online melt value calculator assuming each piece weighed (lets just round it out at 1 oz. each), the online calculator says the melt value after taking the copper out is worth $550?

That is with a spot price for silver at $32.62. 20 oz of .925 coming out to 16.860900 Troy Ounces of .999 Fine Silver.
$550 for 20 pieces of junk Sterling Silverware? Is that correct or am I wrong with calculating this.

If anyone can help educate me in this I would really appreciate it, things to look for or watch out for, and any info at all. I just don't want to assume anything and go out and buy some and pay more than its worth because I made a assumption mistake.

Also, what about silver plated table ware items, like plates and such, is there enough silver on them to make them worth buying and scraping?


Thanks for any info.

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[GreginWA]

You might want to recheck the nickel value??.... Looks like they are worth 5.13 CENTS not dollars....

1946-2011 Nickel $0.05 $0.0513704(metal value) 102.74%

 

[MinnesotaORnewbie]

oops, yes sir, you are correct, a nickel is nickel, only a few years of early nickels had around 30 % silver in them. Mistook the pre 1965 thing to include nickels, but only dimes, quarters and halves. thanks.

 

[bearingman]

Step back a bit-- The melt value may be accurate, but there is a fairly high cost to get from junk to something you can sell, then it still will bring less than spot because of the premiums.

 

[MinnesotaORnewbie]

Step back a bit-- The melt value may be accurate, but there is a fairly high cost to get from junk to something you can sell, then it still will bring less than spot because of the premiums.

ok, how about we make a ratio, If I had 1 oz sterling .925 silver fork. what would everyone think it would be worth if spot was $32. and you had it melted, what would your over all value be worth

 

[bearingman]

I doubt if you could get much more than $25 for it, maybe less.

 

[Sasquatchvnv]

ok, how about we make a ratio, If I had 1 oz sterling .925 silver fork. what would everyone think it would be worth if spot was $32. and you had it melted, what would your over all value be worth

1(troy oz) x .925(silver content) x $32.00 (spot price) = $29.60 (Melt value)

 

[nubus]

They are 92.5% pure silver, total ounces times .925 times spot price. Sasquatch is dead on. If you shop around you can get 90% of spot on a sale. However, I have seen lots of things marked .925 that were just plated. Any reputable shop will know the difference and will not want to buy anything that's plated. Watch out for anyone that says it's plated and then wants to buy it for less. They are definitely trying to scam you. Anyone in the metals market wouldn't even want plated items.

 

[MinnesotaORnewbie]

thank you, I just missed a chance to buy about 20-30 pieces for $2-3 apiece. uuugghhh. but for the future, this will help, I was more concerned about having to decide if on should pay $15 dollars apiece. If I were to just get it melted into bars and hold on to them, keeping a chart with purchase price of each and then using a total number invested as to what the current spot is, was what I had planned to do. Surely seems that most people know what it is worth, but have many of you still found some out at garage sales where it is a broken set and the seller assumes it is just old nothing special silverware?